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Poorly regulated clinics are putting children with ADHD at risk, warn doctors

Poorly regulated clinics are putting children with ADHD at risk, warn doctors

Private providers in UK accused of prescribing powerful stimulants without examining young patients properly Children with ADHD are being put at risk by poorly regulated private clinics that prescribe powerful stimulants without key physical examinations, doctors have warned. A surge in remote-only assessments has led to what one clinician described as “widespread and unsafe practice”, where children are being diagnosed and medicated via video link. The clinical warnings have now forced health authorities in Greater Manchester to overhaul prescribing rules, mandating face-to-face checks to protect the safety of children. Continue reading...

Islamic State emerges from rubble of north-east Syria to exploit discontent with al-Sharaa

Islamic State emerges from rubble of north-east Syria to exploit discontent with al-Sharaa

‘Rebranded’ terror group seeks to recruit those alienated by Damascus government’s western pivot On the surface, all that remains of Islamic State in the Syrian town of Baghuz are discarded tubs of whitening cream, spent RPG motors and children’s backpacks, with an old grenade nestled in the frayed pink nylon. It was here nearly seven years ago that IS made its last stand . Its most zealous followers were obliterated along with the blood-soaked caliphate they fought to defend. Their bodies were collected and buried next to the town graveyard, while bulldozers came and sealed the entire area under a layer of heavy yellow earth. Continue reading...

‘I’d hoped to capture the graphic chaos in the window. What I found was an even more tangled scene’: Michael Krupka’s best phone picture

‘I’d hoped to capture the graphic chaos in the window. What I found was an even more tangled scene’: Michael Krupka’s best phone picture

He may not be a cyclist, but the photographer was drawn by this bike shop’s jumble of frames and parts Michael Krupka had passed Philadelphia’s Via Bicycle repair shop for years before he ventured inside. As a photographer rather than a cyclist, he was drawn by the jumble of frames and parts in the front window. “My father was a machinist and when I was a child we had a workshop at home where he could repair pretty much anything mechanical he encountered,” Krupka recalls. “As an artsy kid, I didn’t inherit those skills, but I do have an aesthetic attraction to machines and mechanical things.” Krupka was out that day on what he describes as an “intentional photo hunt”. He asked a guy repairing a bike near the entrance for permission. “He just shrugged and carried on,” Krupka says. “I’d hoped to capture the graphic chaos against the backlit window. What I found was an even more tangled scene, with even more bikes in the foreground, which I used for the bottom third of the composition,” he says. “The shot has something of a maze or jigsaw element, too, a kind of puzzle that might have interesting things to find within it.” Continue reading...

Young country diary: A new find for my collection – a fox skull

Young country diary: A new find for my collection – a fox skull

Bristol: It now lives in a cabinet of curiosities with lots of feathers and fossils that my sister and I have found It was a cold winter’s morning, and we wrapped up warm to go for a walk in the woods behind our house. The ground was frosty and crunched under our feet, and although it was chilly the sun was casting golden beams of light across our path. We always find a lot of amazing wildlife in the woods – I’ve seen deer and squirrels there and I’ve even spotted a kingfisher down by the brook. But today I decided to explore high up on the slopes, a place I hadn’t been before. My eyes scanned the leaf litter and something caught my eye. At first glance I thought it was just a pile of broken stones, but then I looked closer and saw it was something much more exciting – it was an animal skull. I wasn’t sure what type, as some of it had decomposed. My parents agreed that I could take it home for identification. I wanted to find out what animal it was. Continue reading...

Loose Women off camera: disagreements and heartbreak but 'we've got each other's backs'

Loose Women off camera: disagreements and heartbreak but 'we've got each other's backs'

If you’ve ever wondered whether the Loose Women ladies get on as well behind-the-scenes as they seem to on-air, spend an afternoon in their company and the answer will become abundantly clear. That’s exactly what we did when we got Christine Lampard, 47, Brenda Edwards, 56, GK Barry, 26, and Oti Mabuse, 35, together for a fun-filled, glamorous shoot to celebrate International Women’s Day.